Journal

eleven eleven is a lucky numberwould you be proud of meas dreams shift and shinewill my voice carry yoursalwaysdo you carry mine when I’m forgetfulI saw the beauty of a butterfly in Octoberflying like it was springtimeDo you miss me?I always will

For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to children. Even as a child, I loved children. I'm a mother bird at heart- always have been, always will be. Maybe it's because I can't help but feel pure joy at the sound of a child's giggle or the hilarious yet profound things they say or a good old fashioned tickle monster attack. The innocence and love in their eyes lights their small frames and huge hearts.

I've had 2 dreams in life: to perform and to be a mom. I have had great satisfaction along with great heartache that comes along with a performing arts career. I am so proud of my accomplishments. Do I have any regrets? No way! Sure, I would have loved to tour the world singing my heart out, but I'm so happy where I am thriving at the moment. Which brings me to teaching yoga. It's amazing to connect with people and inspire them to be their best by offering them what I know about yoga. Children included.

I have always looked forward to having a baby. Sometimes I think I was born to birth my babies. Perhaps I missed them the second I came to be and had longed for them ever since patiently. And here they are! But I will love children long after mine are grown just as I loved little ones before mine came to be. So I will enjoy my little darlings. And I will enjoy teaching your little darlings the sweetest give of yoga.

If you can't find me at a party I'm at the kids table (probably teaching a kid yoga pose).

love here knows no limitlove here swellsto the ends of the earthwhere the depths of the seas seeas high as the heavens hearand back againmy arms stretch to where you arecan’t you feel my embrace?you are surroundedremember thisNo word could you sayNo act might you docould ever stop thelove that fills me upwith just a thought of you

Fall is here! Fall is here! It’s so refreshing to wind down from the summer activity and get grounded and enjoy the fresh, crisp breeze. New York City buzzes with excitement for our favorite time of year. Why is this so exciting? The summer’s carefree spirit wound us up; we let our hair down and played to our hearts’ content! Fall is the time to get serious again, a renewed serious. We have to keep the summer’s sparkle in our eye as we put her inspiration into action!

So we are inspired with ideas: improving our health, moving forward with a business idea, leaving our jobs, looking for a new apartment, starting a family, what ever the idea may be. Momentum pushes us forward and we feel so good with our progress and energy. And then our old ways coax our mind to go the opposite direction. Just one more bite of food that doesn’t make me feel good or I am not good enough to make this business work or I don’t have enough money to rent this apartment or start a family. Whatever the stories, they aren’t truthful and we loose the push that we spend all this time dreaming up and starting to make shifts happen. We all do this. But guess what? It doesn’t have to be this way anymore. No more stories. Only focus and determination to get the job done!

Now is the perfect time to get your yoga practice going and steady. I have learned over the years the steadier my yoga practice, the steadier my life moves. Steadied. Balanced. Focused.

I’m going to do a month long Yoga Foundations workshop at Fit and Flow Yoga. If you are a beginner, this is for you. If you have lost your way and need to get back in to your yoga groove, this is for you. If you have always wanted to give yoga a little more time and attention and don’t know where to start, this is for you. We will break down poses together and introduce pranayama and meditation. We will get you going, so that you can take time for yourself to get your story straight and you move through your life in a profound and exciting way. The way you want to be moving in it.

Please join me this fall and start seeing life the way you want to be seeing it! Allow your yoga practice to expand and send its roots through you and beyond to give you a strong foundation to lean on. I am so excited to lead you through this profound practice! Namaste!!!

This yoga journey I am on gets better and better. It started over 12 years ago. I remember the first time I stepped on to the mat I felt alive and electric and it scared the heck out of me. As I practiced, feelings kept coming up screaming for attention. I needed to make change in my life and through that hour Hatha class somehow I was staring the way my life wanted to be, needed to be in the face. But as an early 20 something I laughed at the notion to jump into that change because I simply wasn’t ready. For the next 5 years I would dabble, taking an occasional class here and there. I couldn’t go too deep. It would only cause me to be my best self! God forbid I BE MY BEST SELF!!!!!

And then it happened. I started to take yoga more seriously. And I started to take myself more seriously. Since then my life has opened up in the most beautiful ways. Career, love, family and my spirit blossomed. Most importantly am learning to live in the moment and do my best at staying present and therefore getting the most of each day and each and every relationship. Is there more work to be done? Yes. Always. But taking time everyday to practice yoga (and I don’t just mean asana, the physical practice) I am challenged to connect with my Self and be my best.

I am telling you my story in a vague way. My intention is for you to take my words and insert your own specific story. We are probably a lot alike. I love yoga and I love life. As a teacher, I want to be here to guide you in a yoga practice that inspires you to live life in an exciting and fearless way. I get to watch you tackle some challenging poses, fail and succeed, breathe your beautiful breath and chant your heart out. I want to watch you come back again and again and learn something each time we gather. And from you I get inspired to be my best. See? Isn’t yoga awesome?! We give and receive! We have fun and we don’t take ourselves too seriously yet we are serious when we come together to experience this sacred practice.

I gave birth for the second time 12 weeks ago. It was second time I got to experience the most exhilarating and precious moment of my existence. My yoga practice taught me how to trust myself and it went hand in hand with the birthing process. This is what I mean when I say my yoga journey gets better and better. It just keeps pouring gifts into my lap. I imagine it will help me be a better parent as the years go by, a better wife, a better teacher, a better artist, and just a better human. My best self has arrived.

I am so looking forward to coming home to Fit and Flow Yoga to teach yoga to the most open souls after my maternity leave. I am excited to announce we are doing a Beginners Yoga Series again this June and again in the fall. I will be teaching some workshops for pregnant moms to be and more. I am also hoping to get back to teaching at The Yoga Room in LIC. Stay tuned for that!

I hope this passage inspires you to take a class for the first time (with me!!) or get back on your mat if it’s been a while. Either way, I’ll see you soon and hope that when you hear those voices talking to you on the mat that you listen to your heart and Self and be brave to follow your bliss!!

The moment they told me about youMy love for youFormed inside my little heart with anExplosion of excitement25 years and my heart still swells and admiresI adore the sweetest soul on the planetIn the form of my brother

You sat back taking in every word we everWhined, complained, cried, fought, or screamedNo judgment, an offered opinion usually too profound forSuch a young manA remarkable memory keeps us all in checkMovie phrases, directions to theme parks, and laughing fitsCareful and calculating, smart and lovableWe all can’t wait for the next visit to laugh and story tell with youWith eyes that express and eyelashes that accentuateA warm smile makes me know it will be okay.

It’s no wonder I should want to protect youFrom hateful words or judging whispers…If there were any.I don’t surround myself with that kindIt’s the ones that don’t understand or know any betterHow I wish I could make them see that it doesn’t matterWho you fall in love withWhat matters is the partner you chose better honor who you areAnd make an adventure of this short time we have together

Love who you want to brother, just so long as he loves you like I do, but moreAnd so you treat him as you treat me, but betterI trust that is a possible missionOne day they will all come around. Because love knows no boundsLove trumps fearLove helps you walk down a path you never thought you could handleLove makes you step up to the sweetest part of your beingYour soul doesn’t care whether his mate shows up as a boy or girlIt only recognizes that inside danceThat impromptu party thrownThat ooey gooey exhilarated, satisfied feeling insideWhen the soul’s mate comes out to playOf this day you never want to let go

So hang on, darling, to that soul mate of yoursThey only show up every so often in this lifetimeI got your back.I had it before and I have it even more nowLove will find its way to every corner of our dearest onesAnd melt fear awayJust you wait and seeIt starts here, with me